In a crowded shed on the west side of campus more than 30 bicycles sit in fair-to-poor condition.

These bikes are considered abandoned and will sit, unused, in this shed unless their owners claim them.

If no one comes, the bikes will be recycled.

That shed is the recycle shed.

Allan Rathe, Eastern’s Recycling Coordinator, is in charge of the shed and the bikes until they join the rest of the scrap metal from Eastern.

During the summer the University Police informs Eastern’s recycling center where abandoned bikes are located on campus.

The grounds department then goes and picks up the bikes and brings them to the recycle shed.

The grounds department collects bikes once a year, Rathe said.

Bikes that are left overnight are not instantly picked up, but will be considered abandoned if left for too long.

“Grounds removes bikes from racks when they receive a list of bikes and locations compiled by UPD Officers,” said Art Mitchell, Crime Prevention Officer for the University Police.

After the bikes are in the recycle shed, the owner has three-to-six months to claim their bike. It a bike goes unclaimed, it has to be recycled with the rest of the recyclable scrap steel.

Rathe said that once the bikes have been picked up, they cannot be sold or donated to charity because they are the property of the state. Because Eastern is a state school, the bikes are considered government property after they are picked up.

Eastern does not get any money from the recycled bikes.

“Central Management Services in Springfield gets all the money from our scrap steel,” said Rathe. “CMS controls all state property.”

The majority of the bikes stored in the shed do not look like typical abandoned bikes.

Most of the bikes in the shed are still usable. They still have both of their tires, working brakes and are in fair condition.

To prepare the bikes to be recycled, Rathe takes the tires off and puts the scrap metal from the frames with the rest of the metal that is recycled on campus.

Mitchell said that in order for bikes to avoid being considered abandoned, students should register their bikes with University Police. That service is free.